One of the disadvantages of writing online is that people reading my content don’t know who I am. I am more than I present on the internet, and who I am colors everything I write.
I’ve done a few “10 things you didn’t know” posts over the years, and with the discovery of my dyscalculia, I thought it would be good to update them.
- I am a transplanted Yankee. I was born and raised on the Frozen Tundra, very close to Green Bay. I did my education in southern Wisconsin, but it’s still cold and snowy. I moved to southern Virginia after a particularly bad Wisconsin winter. My two criteria for where I would live? I had to have a fraternity chapter (see #6) and it had to be below the snow line. I had visited this area and found the climate and atmosphere wonderful – and more importantly, found a job that would cover my relocation expenses.
- I detest vacuuming. I once told my husband I would rather give birth than vacuum. He thought I was kidding. I wasn’t (much). I have a Roomba that deals with the upstairs, and my husband handles all of the rest of the vacuuming.
- I don’t “get” Andy Warhol. Or very much other art. I prefer photographs. Living with an art historian, I have developed an appreciation for paintings and other art over the years. I can tell you what I like and don’t like, but I have yet to grasp “artistic merit”. Even after years of being exposed to it, I simply don’t see the art in an overgrown soup can. My favorite piece of “real” art is Orestes Pursued by the Furies, which hangs in our local museum.
- I love being near water, but not on or in it. I learned how to swim early, but never felt at home in the water. Couple this with being thrown out of every boat I have put foot into, I am just not a water sport person. Since I live near the ocean, this is quite ironic. I do try to spend time on the beach, though, particularly the residential end where the tourists and jellyfish aren’t an issue.
- I am a brother in a fraternity. Even though I am female, I am a full member of an engineering fraternity. Not an associate, not a sister, and not a little sister. I am addressed as “Brother”. And if we really want to get confusing, my maid of honor at my wedding is also my brother. And female as well. 🙂
- I am dyscalculic. In spite of having a degree in electrical engineering, a state teaching license in math and working in data engineering, I have fundamental differences with the way my brain processes spatial concepts. This has led to difficulties that I have to work around, sometimes daily. It also drives the way I approach things like time and planning.
- I love raking leaves. I find something very soothing in the drawing of the rake, making piles, and scooping them up into the compost. I prefer to do this without music, as well, just listening to the sound of the wind and the birds.
- I cannot garden. I tried for 20+ years to produce vegetables. I’ve tried using containers, raised beds and sticking things directly in the ground. I’ve tried soil remediation, watering schedules and asking for professional guidance. Every year I was met with disaster. I cannot even grow zucchini, which is arguably the easiest thing on the planet to grow. I finally gave up two years ago and buy my produce, and gratefully accept all the extra produce from my neighbors, all of whom are master gardeners.
- I make my own strawberry jam. Being raised in northern Wisconsin by parents who grew up during WWII, I learned how to can food. I still make my own strawberry jam, using berries that we pick from the vast fields on the outskirts of the city I live in.
- I started studying percussion during the pandemic. I spent years playing flute and singing. I always wanted to learn to drum. My daughter studied percussion at the Governor’s School for the Arts, and when I wanted to support her percussion teacher during the pandemic, she told me to take the lessons myself. Thankfully her teacher was willing to take on a woodwind player with a loose sense of rhythm. I have really been enjoying my work and find it meditative. It has also the added benefit of making my other music playing much more accurate.
And this concludes the weirdness that is this post. Comment below if you wish. 🙂
_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg){kind=link}